Freshers Week

Freshers is the most highly anticipated event of any young persons life. The idea of moving out, making new friends and doing nothing but dressing up and partying for two weeks is undoubtedly very exciting. I was unable to do re-freshers this year as I'm recovering from surgery still so I thought I'd do a little post reminiscing about my freshers week.

I started off freshers with literally no money whatsoever so I ended up going to the local convenience store and getting the cheapest drinks I could get my hands on and making some truly unforgivable concoctions in the hopes of getting really drunk on a tight budget. (Strawberry Lambrini and Vodka anyone?) Not only was I drinking absolute rubbish but I was eating it too. I was too lazy to cook most days so I either didn't eat as "eating is cheating" or I ate cake. Yes that's right cake for dinner. (Living the dream)

Freshers itself involved playing a lot of drinking games. Mostly ring of fire which I had never played before in my life so needless to say I think I was pretty annoying having to ask what every card meant. Still to this day I can't remember the rules but maybe that's just a sign that I was already drunk enough when they were being explained to me. 

My freshers involved quite a few themed nights so dressing up was a must. I probably spent a little bit too much money on buying my fresher outfits hence why I ended up with £10 to pay for drinks, taxi rides and junk food for the first week until my loan came in. Let me tell you now that £10 is NOT enough for multiple nights out. I was always the one getting out of paying for a group taxi (sorry guys) and I was always willing to accept a drink but not buy that person one back (sorry once again) and when that loan money finally dropped in my bank account I almost cried tears of joy. I could now buy my end of night cheeseburger and 6 nuggets without feeling guilty.

When I first embarked on my freshers week I was determined to make every event. Start as you mean to go on and what not. However I had to give myself 3 days off from partying as I just couldn't hack it, especially as I was going out in 6 inch heels every night and doing a ridiculous amount of slut dropping. Although I did go to as many nights as possible as it was quite exciting going out when everyone was in high spirits and chanting "T R E N T - WE ARE THE TRENT ARMY" 

Freshers was an interesting experience to say the least and it did teach me a two lessons;

1. Save some money as it can be pricey

and most importantly..

2. Don't expect to stay friends with the people you meet in freshers week (chances are you will occasionally pass them in uni and it will be super awkward and neither of you will say anything)

Slicked Back - Photoshoot

Here's another shoot from my recent university project. This set is entitled "Slicked Back" and is probably my most favourite set of images to date. I had some really amazing feedback from my fellow peers on this which was so amazing to hear as I normally feel like studio work is my weak point. Overall I'm so happy with the end results and can't wait to put these in my own personal portfolio! 

Model: Sanya @ Model Students Agency
Photography and Styling: Myself
MUA: Sanya

Vivid Hues - Photoshoot

It's been a while since I shared any of my photography work on my blog and as some of you will know photography is what I study at university. We're usually set a brief each term / week at uni so I have to create images which fit a few rules therefore for most of the year I was producing work that I wouldn't ever put in my own personal portfolio. However during our last term at uni our brief was completely self directed, meaning I could do whatever I wanted. I defaulted back to my usual interest which is fashion / beauty photography. This shoot in particular was beauty themed, focusing on dewy skin, strong brows and a bold lip. We switched the look up a few times, even deciding to change the theme completely at one stage and create a fake freckled look.Overall it was a really fun shoot and something a bit different for me. I've done a few beauty shoots before but this was my first one in the studio and my first using coloured card to create the bright backgrounds. The lipsticks, eyeliners and eyeshadows I featured in yesterdays post were all purchased and used in this shoot so as you can see the colour pay off from the £1 lipsticks is pretty impressive! 

I plan on doing a few more posts in the future to show more of my portfolio work, so if you're interested in seeing more of my photography then keep checking back or alternatively you can have a look at my photography page which I'll link below! 

Model: Chelcie @ Model Students
Hair: Savanna Kirkpatrick
Make-up: Chelcie
Photography: Myself

Model Students |  Chelcie's Portfolio | My Photography Page

Back To Blogging...

After returning from university yesterday I was surprised to see that my tote bag from The Blogger Programme had finally came. I honestly couldn't tell you when I'd sent off for this but it was definitely some time ago! Whilst being thrilled to receive my bag it did leave me feeling a little bit guilty about how much I've neglected my blog since starting university. I've made countless drafts of half finished blog posts which never seemed good enough to publish so my blog has remained untouched since July. I'm almost finished with my second term of university now so I'm hoping that my Easter break gives me the chance to catch back up with some blogging. I have a few reviews to do, some photography posts and possibly some OOTD's. Hopefully I no longer take such a long break between updating my blog!

Should I take a Gap Year?

Hello Readers,

Today I'm going to be doing a little bit of a different post to what I usually do on here and I'm going to be talking about Gap years. I'll be talking about what I experienced during mine and hopefully giving relevant advice that will come in handy to people who are currently making this difficult decision. Now I'm not really sure on what the typical age is for the majority of my readers so I don't know how relevant this will be to some of you. However if it helps or is interesting to at least one person then that's all I can ask for! 

I'll start off by saying that I myself am currently on a gap year, I didn't choose to take a gap year as such as originally I was adamant that I was not going to go to university. I couldn't mentally picture myself being there, going to lectures, doing dissertations etc. I was sure university wasn't for me so I decided not to bother applying. It wasn't until some of my friends started going off to interviews and getting offers that a small part of me began to wish I was doing the same thing - it also didn't help that I had teachers and my mum telling me that I should apply and I was good enough to go to university despite what I initially thought.

I decided that instead of just disregarding their encouragement for me to go into higher education, I would bare it in mind for a few months whilst I took a "gap year". As college came to an end and Summer began, I decided to set myself goals for my gap year. I wanted to see what I could achieve and see if any of the experiences I went through would help me make up my mind about whether or not to go university at all. 

So that brings me to my first Gap Year tip;

1. Set yourself realistic goals.
It's all well and good saying you want to take a gap year to do other things but unless you sit down and plan what you want to achieve during your gap year, you'll just end up sitting around and before you know it the year will be over and you won't feel much better for it. I made myself a few simple goals, all which could be achievable if I worked hard enough. Most of them relate to photography as that's what I want to do but without actually sitting down and setting myself some goals I can almost guarantee that I would have wasted my time doing nothing.

 Thankfully I have achieved all of these tasks (apart from saving up, that starts now) I've built up my photography portfolio so much this year, both with my own personal work and client work. I worked in Topshop over Christmas and also managed to bag myself a little photography job at a little vintage beauty salon. I made a few very valuable contacts whilst living in Nottingham which will come in handy as that's where I will be studying for the next 3 years! I also managed to get some photography work published in an online magazine which was an absolute dream come true for me! 

2. Do something exciting! 

I know it's pretty predictable to turn around and say go travelling around the world but if it's what you want to do, do it! Do something different, go somewhere new, do something which challenges you to be more independent. For me that was moving out of my family home and moving to Nottingham with my boyfriend. It's something that was scary, exciting and challenging yet I don't regret it in the slightest. It's taught me some important life skills which I know will come in handy with uni. Now I'm not saying you have to move out of your family home, but maybe just doing something as simple as going on holiday with your friends or working abroad? Something that will teach you how to look after yourself and how to be responsible with money.

3. Gain some work experience.
I'm sure this pretty much goes without saying but jazzing up your CV a bit whilst you have the time will work wonders. It can be extremely difficult trying to find work these days so don't just expect to complete a 3 year uni course and find yourself in the dream job straight away. It's a highly competitive market and a degree doesn't necessarily improve your chances therefore it's crucial that you try your best to add to your resume and further improve your skills whilst you have the chance. Whether it's paid or unpaid work it will help you! Remember, volunteer work always looks great on your CV and who knows, maybe you'll find yourself in the dream job without having to go to university! 


4. Enjoy Yourself! 
You're finally free of the pressures of education so make sure you enjoy yourself! Spend time with friends, relax, take that dream holiday with your friends / family or find yourself a hobby and really throw yourself in to it. Having a hobby will come in handy whilst at Uni as there are lots of different social groups you can join, which ultimately means you'll be able to make friends with people who share similar interests to you. 

5. Explore Your Interests
Use your free time to explore your interests and really think about what it is exactly that you would like to go on and study. For example, I have an interest in fashion and after leaving college I began looking at possibly taking up a fashion styling course instead of photography - which was something I'd never even considered previously! I ruled it out in the end, but it was nice to look at my options and see the different career paths I could take.


6. University Isn't Everything
It's important to remember that University is not the be all and end all in life. Too many people these days are stuck in the mindset that you can't achieve anything without going to uni and that's not the case at all. Don't feel pressured to go to university just because everyone else is or because your parents want you to go. If you know 100% that it's not for you then don't push yourself into going as you'll only make yourself unhappy. 

A few months into my gap year I realised that I wanted to give university a go. There's still room for me to grow and develop my photography skills and that's exactly what I want to do. I've got a confirmed place at Nottingham Trent University and I can't wait to see what university life is like. I don't regret my gap year in the slightest as it helped teach me important life skills and also helped me tremendously when it came to making my decision about university. 

I hope this post has been helpful for anyone considering taking a gap year. I'd love to hear some feedback! 

I hope you're all well.

OOTD #22

Hello Readers,

Today I have an OOTD post for you all. It's not a very exciting outfit, however I thought I'd update my blog anyway as I've been pretty bad with keeping up with it as of lately. I'm in the middle of sorting out university related matters at the moment, I think I've decided on going to NTU so I've been applying for student finance and trying to sort accommodation out. I never realised just how expensive student accommodation can be! Looks like if I do find somewhere to live, I'll be fitting into that "broke student" stereotype rather quickly.

I quickly nipped into town today, hence the casual outfit and tragic hair that I'm sporting. I ended up picking up two sets of Primark's false nails. I'll be giving them a go and hopefully reviewing them on my blog soon, which should be pretty interesting as I've never wore fake nails before!

 

 

Outfit:

White Boxy Textured Tshirt - Topshop

Black Acid Wash Joni Jeans - Topshop

Black Heeled Boots - Topshop

Gold Chain Necklace - River Island

 

 

 That's all for today's post. I hope you're all well!

 

 



50 Facts About Me

Hello Readers,

Today I will be doing the 50 Facts About Me Tag as it's one that I haven't done before and I noticed that the lovely Rheya from PixiRella had done it today and tagged everyone! So that was more than enough encouragement for me to give it a go. It was quite hard trying to think of 50 facts about yourself however I'm glad I did it as it's quite nice to look at and think oh, I'm not as boring as I thought I was!

1. My full name is Paige Myra Young

 

2. I was named after a bitchy character in a show that my mum watched whilst she was pregnant.

 

3. I'm originally from Corby, aka "Little Scotland"

4. I run my own photography business and have done since I was 16 years old

 

5. I recently got a Christmas temp job at Topshop which I am over the moon about!
6. I currently live in Nottingham with my boyfriend Chris.

7. I met my boyfriend on Myspace when I was 14, we were friends for a while before finally becoming a couple when I was 16. (Although saying that, I fancied him the whole time we were friends haha)

 

8. We've been together for almost 3 years now.

9. I have a cat called Bubbles, he has half a nose.

 

10. I also had a dog called Buster, however we sadly had him put down this year due to poor health.

11. I failed my driving test twice and thankfully passed 3rd time round!
12. I don't do very well in test conditions.

13. I'm absolutely RUBBISH at maths. I'm more of a creative person so me and numbers just don't get on.

14. My first ever concert was Daniel Bedingfield,  I was about 8 years old.

15. My ultimate dream is to become a successful fashion photographer.

 

16. I absolutely love buying new clothes.

 

17. I only just got into the Hunger Games last week and now I'm addicted to it!

 

18. I had quite long hair and then when I got into secondary school, I began to have it cut

shorter and shorter until finally in year 9 I decided to get Rihanna's old short hair cut.

19. It's taken a while to grow back but I think it's finally at a decent length!

20. I have a younger brother called Jack, he's 15.

 

21. Much to the horror and disbelief of every person I've ever come across, I dislike the Harry Potter series. I've tried to get into it, books and movies but I just can't do it. I don't like it!

22. I used to be a massive greb / scene kid wannabe when I was 14. Multi coloured hair, black panda eyes, yeah you get the picture.

23. I want to go to London to study fashion photography. I'm hoping to do it next year with any luck!

24. I love going on nights out because I love dancing! I do the most crazy, ridiculous dance moves ever and feel no shame about it!

25. I love Adventure time.

26. I have the frizziest hair in the world, it sucks.

27. I'm a really fussy eater.

28. If I'm eating anything bread based and there is only bread in my mouth, no chicken or sauce etc, I will gag and throw up. Apparently my mouth doesn't like the taste of plain bread? Is this normal?!

29. I don't really like chips.

30. I don't like any form of hot drinks and that includes hot chocolate as well as tea, coffee etc.

31. I really want to see the Northern Lights.

32. I pretty much only wear black clothes.

33. I don't like wearing a coat.

 

34. When I was younger I used to love reading so much that I would to go to the library, take out the maximum of 10 books and return them a day or 2 later, having read them all!

35. Up until the age of 16 I wanted to be an author.

36. Despite passing my driving test in the summer, I have never drove a car. (Hooray for not being able to afford insurance)

37. I hate potatoes. They are vile.

38. Up until the age of 10 I used to regularly pretend to be a cat. My mum genuinely thought I needed to see someone because she was the concerned.

39. I used to be obsessed with the band Tokio Hotel.

40. I bite my nails and I literally can't stop it.

41. I'm extremely squeamish.

42. I used to be addicted to the Sims 2 when I was younger. If someone came to the door to ask if I was coming out, I would say no so I could stay in and play sims.

43. I like playing games, I play Minecraft, Gears of War 3, Skyrim, Pokémon etc.
44. As a photographer I've covered 3 weddings, 3 proms, events etc.

45. When I was about 15 I used to be able to eat 3 takeaways a day however now I can barely finish a normal sized bowl of pasta.

46. Sammi from BeautyCrush and Jenn Im from Clothes Encounters are my style icons.

47. I'm a Scorpio.

48. Everybody compares me to a Shrew.

49. I don't like getting water in my face.

 

50. These facts are quite dull!

That's all for this post, well done to those of you who read through it all. You've done well!
I tag all of you who read this and fancy giving it a go.

 

 

 



It's time.

I've been indecisive for so long about what I want to do with my life. One minute I have my heart set on something and then the next I'm totally clueless. I finish my photography course at college this year and I made the decision not to go to university. I'm taking a gap year and I'm going to try and get myself some more work experience, preferably in retail, as my CV is desperately lacking.

 

Originally I didn't want to go to university but now, after seeing some of my course mates putting together their portfolio's for university interviews it got me thinking and I've decided that yes, I would like to go to university after my gap year. I'd love to do something with fashion, whether that be a fashion styling course, or a fashion photography course I'm not 100% sure.

So this leads me on to this blog, I figured that to give me the best chance of achieving my goal of doing something fashion related I need to get into blogging. Fashion and beauty blogs are huge right now and if you do it right it can really lead to some amazing opportunities. So I've decided to just get over my fear of what others may think of me and just try and maintain my own little fashion, beauty, and general blog. After taking a year out of college, I feel like a successful fashion blog can only be an advantage when applying for a fashion related course at university.

 

So, hopefully this post will be the first of many!


Paige.